The Sea Transport Branch of the British

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

, originally established as the Transport Department or Naval Transport Department, was a logistical branch of the

Department of Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

responsible for the provision of naval transportation services. It underwent numerous name changes throughout its complicated history with responsibility for sea transportation, known as the Department of the Director of Transports from 1890. According to it was temporarily part of the responsibility of the Ministry of Shipping as its Transport Department from 1917-1921, though still under the auspice of the Admiralty. It was renamed the Sea Transport Department of the Board of Trade from 1921-1941. It then moved then back to the Ministry of Shipping from 1941-1946. Responsibility for naval transportation then became part of the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

as its Sea Transport Department until 1946, still with co-responsibility with the Admiralty. It continued with the Ministry of Shipping until 1967 when it was renamed the Sea Transport Division and in 1970 it was put under the control of the Board of Trade as the Sea Transport Branch. The branch was administered by the Director of Sea Transport.

History

The origins of the branch began with the Transport Board established in 1686. In 1817 the Transport Board was itself abolished and its responsibilities were then separated between the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

who created its own Transport Branch and the

Victualling Board The Commissioners for the Victualling of the Navy, often called the Victualling Commissioners or Victualling Board, was the body responsible under the Navy Board for victualling ships of the British Royal Navy. It oversaw the vast operation of ...

which set up its own Transport Service. In 1832 both the navy and victualling boards were abolished and responsibility for the provision of transport passed to the new Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services. In 1862 the Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services role was separated leading to the creation of a separate Transport Department. By 1890 it was renamed as the Department of the Director of Transports. In 1917 the department was temporarily absorbed into the Ministry of Shipping until 1921 when the ministry was abolished. During the previous period the Director of Transports was seconded by the Admiralty to the Ministry of Shipping as its representative restyled as the Director of Transport and Shipping under the

Shipping Controller Shipping Controller was a post created by the Lloyd George Coalition Government in 1916 under the New Ministries and Secretaries Act (6 & 7 George 5 c.68) to regulate and organize merchant shipping in order to supply the United Kingdom with the m ...

. After the first world war the Transport Department was made part of the Board of Trade's, Mercantile Marine Department as its Sea Transport Department. In order to deliver the requirements for the provision of naval transportation services for the Admiralty its Directors of the Transport were given joint roles he was appointed head of the Admiralty Department and made an officer of the Board of Trade.The National Archive, catalogue for MT40 The Sea Transport Department remained as part of the Mercantile Marine Department of Board of Trade until 1941. In 1939 the Ministry of Shipping was reconstituted and in May 1941 it was amalgamated with

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

to form the

it assumed responsibility for the Sea Transport Department until May 1946. The

was reestablished in May 1946 at the Sea Transport Department remained a part of the Ministry of Transport under the auspice of Admiralty as stated in official documents until March 1968 when it was renamed the Sea Transport Division. In 1970 it moved back to the Board of Trade where it was renamed as the Sea Transport Branch.

Responsibilities

Ministry of War Transports (1941-1946) :The Sea Transport Department was responsible for all merchant shipping requirements of the armed forces, which gave it control of troop ships, supply ships, hospital ships, Fleet Auxiliaries including

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

s, naval stores and munitions ships, rescue ships, ocean boarding vessels, and tugs. It also controlled the recruitment of civilian crewmen.

Admiralty administration

Included:

Director of Transports

# Rear-Admiral William R. Mends: April 1862-April 1883 # Rear-Admiral Sir Francis W. Sullivan: April 1883-August 1888 # Rear-Admiral Harry W. Brent: August 1888-October 1898 # Captain Boverie F. Clark: October 1898 – 1899 # Rear-Admiral Boverie F. Clark: October 1899 – 1901 # Rear-Admiral George T.H. Boyes: 1902-1905 # Vice-Admiral George T.H. Boyes: 1906-1907 (retd) # Vice-Admiral Robert L. Groome: November 1907-December 1911 # Rear-Admiral Herbert W. Savory: December 1911-November 1914

Assistant Director of Transports

Included: # W. F. Baughan 1888-1894 # S. J. Graff 1896-1906

Civil Assistant Director of Transports

# S. J. Graff 1902-1906

Naval Assistant to the Director of Transports

Included: # Captain W. A. De V.Brownlow 1888-1896 # Captain Francis J. Pitt 1896-1903 # Captain W. Mac C. Maturin 1903-1906 # Captain (retired) Hubert Stansbury, 1 April 1915 – early 1917 # Commodore, Second Class George P. Bevan, 1 April 1918 – November, 1919

Consulting Officer for Indian Troop Service

Included: # Captain A. W. Chitty I.N. 1888-1892 Post was abolished by 1898.

Inspectors of Shipping

Included: # Edward G. Farrell and W. H. Johns R.N. 1888-1895

Chief Inspector of Shipping

Included: # Edward G. Farrell 1896-1906

Structure of the Transport Department

At various ports both in the United Kingdom and overseas responsibility for the provision of transportation service lay with appointed officials called a

Principal Naval Transport Officer In the Royal Navy, a principal naval transport officer (P.N.T.O.) later known as principal sea transport officer (P.S.T.O.) is a shore-based flag officer or captain responsible for sea transport duties, and assisting the senior naval officer's ...

or a

Divisional Transport Officer In the Royal Navy, a Divisional Transport Officer (DTO) or a Divisional Naval Transport Officer (DNTO) and later called a Divisional Sea Transport Officer (DSTO) is a shore-based naval officer responsible for the efficient working of the transport ...

these positions were often filled by a retired officer – as conditions required - though not always. Ports and Stations #

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

# Cape Town - Resident Transport Officer, Cape Town #

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

- Superintending Transport Officer at Cardiff #

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

- Divisional Transport Officer, Durban #

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

- Admiralty Transport Officer, Liverpool #

Mudros Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...

Principal Naval Transport Officer, Mudros M, or m, is the 13th letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''em'' (pronounced ), plural ''ems''. History The let ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

# Newhaven #

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea ...

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

- Principal Naval Transport Officer, Salonika and a Divisional Transport Officer, Salonika. #

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

- Admiralty Transport Officer, Southampton #

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

Ministry of Shipping administration

Director of Transport and Shipping

This officer was seconded by the Admiralty to the ministry of shipping as its representative under the

. # Graeme Thompson, Esq., C.B. October, 1917-October 1918. # B. A. Kemball. Cook: October 1918 – 1921.

Board of Trade administration

Director of Sea Transport

This officer was seconded by the Admiralty to the ministry of shipping as its representative under the Board of Trade. # W. G. Hynard, Esq., C.B. CBE, 1939

Ministry of War Transport administration

Director of Sea Transport

# Sir Ralph Metcalfe, 1941-1946

Naval Assistant to the Director of Sea Transport

# Rear-Admiral A. Poland, 1945-1946

Professional Advisors to the Director of Sea Transport

# Commodore, R. Harrison 1941-1946 # Commodore Engineer, J. C. McGuire 1941-1946

Structure of department

As of July 1946 consisted of: :Branches and Sections # Technical Branch under the superintendence of a Principal Technical Officer # Technical Costings Section under the superintendence of a Principal Technical Costings Officer # Security Branch under the superintendence of a Rear-Admiral (Rtd). :Transport Officers :These were Principal Sea Transport Officers holding the rank of Commodore through to Vice-Admiral some active serving officers others retired.

Timeline

As listed under headings in Royal Navy Lists: # Navy Board, Transport Board, 1686-1817 # Navy Board, Transport Branch, 1817-1832 # Board of Admiralty, Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services, 1832-1862 # Board of Admiralty, Transport Department, 1862-1916 # Ministry of Shipping, Transport Department, 1917-1921 # Board of Trade, Mercantile Marine Department, Sea Transport Department, 1921–41 # Ministry of War Transport, Sea Transport Department, 1941-1946 # Ministry of Shipping, Sea Transport Department, 1946-1967 # Ministry of Shipping, Sea Transport Division, 1968-1970 # Board of Trade, Sea Transport Branch, 1970

References

Sources

# Admiralty, Great Britain (June 1890). The Navy List. London, England: HM Stationery Office. # Admiralty, Great Britain (March 1892). The Navy List. London, England: HM Stationery Office. # Admiralty, Great Britain (March 1896). The Navy List. London, England: HM Stationery Office. # Admiralty, Great Britain (October 1898). The Navy List. London, England: HM Stationery Office. # Brown, David (2013). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: Vol.I: September 1939 - October 1940. Oxford, England: Routledge. . # Hamilton, Sir Vesey (1896). Naval Administration. London England: George Bell and Son. # Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony (2018). "Director of Transports (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell. # McMillan, Richard (2006). The British Occupation of Indonesia: 1945-1946: Britain, The Netherlands and the Indonesian Revolution. Oxford, England: Routledge. . # "Records of Transport Departments" (1773–1868). nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives UK. # Whitaker, Joseph (1894). An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord ... London, England: J. Whitaker. {{Admiralty Department Admiralty departments